EXHIBITION OF BRONZES AND PAINTINGS BY ANTOINE LOUIS BARYE MARCH 11 TO MARCH 21 INCLUSIVE NEW YORK THE GROLIER CLUB 1909 EXHIBITION OF BRONZES AND PAINTINGS BY ANTOINE LOUIS BARYE MARCH 11 TO MARCH 27 INCLUSIVE NEW YORK THE GROLIER CLUB 1909 ANTOINE LOUIS BARYE The man of genius whose work is repre- sented in this exhibition enjoyed an in- spiration rare in any epoch but never, from the earliest times, without its zealous followers. In nearly every great school there have been artists to whom the appeal of the animal as a subject for treatment has been as urgent as the appeal of the human figure has been to the majority of their fellows. One of the earliest master- pieces in the history of sculpture is that relief, of Assyrian origin, now in the British Museum, which portrays a wounded lioness on the verge of its last agony. The horse was modeled with peculiar knowledge and enthusiasm by the Greeks and the taste, if not the power, developed in their world, w r as revived in that of the Romany In more modern periods the same sym- pathetic feeling for the noblest of quad- rupeds is observed, and, indeed, the animal, wild or domestic, reappears again and 3 INTRODUCTION again in the works of the masters. The insatiable curiosity of Leonardo wreaks it- self on strange beasts; Rembrandt, in one of the most interesting of his drawings, gives you the portrait of an elephant; the robust style of Rubens is flung magnifi- cently over the hurly-burly of form in- volved in a lion hunt, and so, through countless phases, an influence persists down to our own day. Antoine Louis Barye is an honorable figure in a long line of artists whose gifts have been dedicated to the interpretation of the carnivora and those four-footed creatures which have been tamed by man. Born in Paris in 1795, he came to man- hood at a time and amid circumstances ex- ceptionally favorable to the growth of his artistic predilections. In the clash of the Napoleonic wars men’s minds turned natu- rally enough to themes of wild violence. The typical academician of that period pursued, it is true, the even tenor of his way, and, in fact, under the empire, found his path made doubly smooth. But there were electric forces in the air and these • 4 INTRODUCTION were destined, sooner or later, to promote rebellion against pseudo-classicism and the rule of thumb generally. The possessor of a literary or artistic temperament was stirred by the emotions of the man of ac- tion, and these were bound to find an out- let. Thus germinated the passion for a new ideal of beauty and for individual ex- pression which culminated in the formation of the romantic school. The painters of 1830 established their tradition, con- sciously or unconsciously, on a basis not simply of artistic but of political and social feeling. The life-blood of France was re-invigorated; men used their limbs with a new energy. The scales fell from their eyes, and if they saw visions and dreamed dreams they also looked out upon the visible world with a keener zest and a wider range of sympathies. They obeyed, moreover, the dictates of their own char- acters. Gericault exercised the faculties of a realist with a dramatic turn of mind. Delacroix, avid of the thing that he could see and touch, was nevertheless impelled to bathe it in the glamour of romance. De- 5 INTRODUCTION camps, when he turned from landscape, from Oriental caravans, from Italian peas- ants, and the like, would paint monkeys as human beings, giving free play to the vein of satire in his nature. What of Barye, who was of their generation and in har- mony with their broad spirit? He gave himself first and last to the expression of the truth, presenting it in his art without the intervention of any sentiment, ro- mantic or otherwise. The story of his career is one of unre- mitting application to the lessons of na- ture. His father was a silversmith, and in his youth he served the apprenticeship of a craftsman. In the workshop of Fourier he learned how to work in the precious metals, and it may be noted in passing that down to the day of his death he preserved the aptitudes of the goldsmith. Some of his statuettes might have easily been produced by a disciple of Cellini. But Barye soon craved a wider field of activity and found the key to it in that impulse which drove him to the Jardin des Plantes. Frequent- ing the collection of wild animals there, 6 INTRODUCTION absorbed in contemplation of their traits, he proceeded to observe them both as an artist and as a naturalist. To Delacroix’s instinct for the sensuous beauty of the leopard or the tiger he joined a scientist’s inquisitiveness as to the springs of action in those lithe, gleaming bodies. He studied the movement of the muscles under the rippling skin, he noted every nuance of expression ebout the mouths and eyes of his great cats. He watched them feeding, or moving with their ceaseless restlessness up and down the cage, or lying in ineffably graceful repose. He marked the reference of action to emotion, so synthesizing his observations that when he came to paint one of his water-colors or to model one of his bronzes he made his lion or panther, his tiger or crocodile, an astounding unit of form and feeling. The tread of one of his tigers is full of power and menace. The whole body seems to quiver. No beast of his is immobile, unless, perchance, he wishes it to be so; and even then one is always aware, as in the presence of the living ani- mal, of an extraordinary latent elasticity. 7 INTRODUCTION Not the Assyrian relief already mentioned, not any triumph of Greek plastic art, is more vitalized than is one of these master- pieces of Barye. His works have in them a spark of that life which makes a thrilling mystery of the depths of the jungle. Like Blake, with his “Tiger ! Tiger ! burning bright,” this artist flashes upon the imagi- nation an authentic image of terror and beauty. He could do this, in the first place, be- cause he knew his subjects so well, because he had got, so to say, under their skins. The value of the truth in his work is trans- cendent. But if his pictures and sculp- tures are to be treasured it is also because they give expression to a great artistic personality, to a man with the secret of style. He is not content to make a realistic portrait of one of his models. He must caress that portrait with an individualizing touch, he must determine its outlines and its effect in the mass so that it will conform to his sense of design. It is interesting to note, too, that you may turn a bronze of Barye’s about, looking at it from every 8 INTRODUCTION point of view, and always it is interesting, as the animal itself would be, moving hither and yon. There is a wonderful boldness, there is a kind of grand simplicity, in the art of Barye ; but he is a subtle master, one whose work, no matter how spontaneous it may seem to be, leaves invariably an im- pression of artistic construction, of deli- cately wrought composition. It took his countrymen some time to real- ize what he was driving at and to do him honor. In the competitions which he entered at the Ecole des Beaux Arts as a young man the prize would again and again be awarded to some rival now unknown to fame. He was sorely tried and must at times have reached the brink of despair. He was, however, no less tenacious than modest, and after years of patient waiting he had his reward. Dis- cerning patrons entered his life, some of them, like the Duke of Orleans, well quali- fied to make his talent known, and little by little public appreciation drew him from the obscurity in which academic authorities would have been satisfied to leave him. Monumental bronzes of his were erected in 9 INTRODUCTION Paris and elsewhere, his works executed on a small scale figured in exhibitions and were presently acquired with enthusiasm by pri- vate collectors. When he died, in 1875, he died in the knowledge that his rank as a great artist had been fixed, and ever since his renown has increased. It is good to know that American connoisseurs were quick to perceive his merit and that his art is finely represented in this country. 10 CATALOGUE OF BRONZES AND PAINTINGS CATALOGUE BRONZES 1 Arab killing lion 2 Tatar warrior. (Arabesque base) 184- 3 Gaston de Foix. 1838 4 Charles VII (The Victorious) (Proof No. 10.) 1838 5 Napoleon. (Designed for the City of Grenoble.) Modern 6 Theseus fighting Centaur. 1850 7 Theseus fighting the Minotaur. (Proof No. 5.) 1838 8 “Amazon.” (In costume of 1830) 184- 9 Monkey mounted on gnu. (Proof No. 2.) 1842 13 BRONZES 10 Seated lion. (Tuileries.) 1836 11 Seated lion. (No. 2.) 1841 12 Seated lion. (Small; new model) 13 Seated lion. (Small) 14 Lion and serpent. (Tuileries) 1832-33 15 Lion and serpent. (Uplifted paw) 1832-33 16 Lion devouring hind. 1837 17 Tiger devouring gazelle. 1834 18 Lion walking. 1835-36 19 Tiger walking. 1835-36 20 Lion walking. (Terra cotta; new model) 21 Two young lions. 1835 22 Lioness standing. (New model) 23 Senegal lioness 24 Algerian lioness 25 Sleeping jaguar 14 BY ANTOINE LOUIS BARYE 26 Jaguar standing. (Reduction) 1840 27 Jaguar walking. (Reduction) 1840 28 Jaguar devouring agouti. 1847 29 J aguar devouring crocodile. 1850-55 30 Panther catching stag 31 Tiger devouring gavial. (Reduc- tion.) 1831 32 Panther reclining 33 Tunisian panther. 1840 34 Indian panther. 1840 35 Reclining panther holding stag. 1839 36 Panther pouncing on civet-cat 37 Tiger overpowering stag. (Reduc- tion of the group in stone at Lyons, France.) 1839 38 Elephant crushing tiger. 1837 15 BRONZES 39 Senegal elephant. (Aluminum) Modern 40 Senegal elephant. (Bronze) 41 Cochin China elephant. Modern 42 African elephant 43 Asian elephant. 1833 44 Algerian dromedary 45 Algerian dromedary. (Small) 46 Group of bears. 1833 47 Bear in tree eating owl 48 Seated bear. 1834 49 Bear standing. 1831 50 Wolf holding stag by throat 51 Stag, hind, and faun 52 Buck, doe, and two fauns 53 Listening stag. (Proof No. 36) 1838 54 Stag with raised leg. (Proof No. 40) 55 Stag walking. (Proof No. 16) 16 BY ANTOINE LOUIS BARYE 56 Wounded stag 57 Faun scratching itself. Modern 58 Faun reclining. (Proof No. 8) 59 “Kevel” 60 Ethiopian gazelle 61 Wolf walking 62 Bull. 1841 63 Prancing bull. 1841 64 Bull overcome by bear. 1839 65 Turkish horse 66 Half-blood horse with raised head. (Reduction) 67 Half-blood horse with lowered head 68 Ratel robbing nest 69 Wolf taken in trap 70 Dachshund 71 English dachshund 72 Two dogs after pheasant. (Proof No. 5) 17 BRONZES 73 Two dogs running 74 King Charles spaniel. (Silver) Modern 75 Andirons decorated with two dachs- hunds 76 Seated cat 77 Seated hare. Modern 78 Rabbit with ears erect 79 Startled rabbit 80 Rabbit with ears down 81 Crocodile 82 Stork on back of tortoise 83 Hercules carrying boar. (Silver) Modern 84 Roman jester. Modern 85 Juno 86 Chimera 87 Greek candelabra surmounted by stork 18 BY ANTOINE LOUIS BARYE 88 Pair candlesticks decorated with leaf- age 89 Pair Greek candlesticks with antique medallions 90 Pheasant. Modern 91 Wounded pheasant. Modern 92 Eagle and serpent. 1824-5 BAS-RELIEFS 93 Eagle and serpent. 1824-5 94 Running elk 95 Virginia stag 96 Brach hound pointing 97 “Genette” carrying bird 98 Leopard. 1831 99 Panther. 1831 100 Virginia hart 101 Eagle and chamois 19 PAINTINGS PAINTINGS 102 Fontainebleau 103 Wolf chasing a stork 104 Stag walking 105 Standing lion 106 Rolling tiger 107 Lion reclining 108 Leopard and snail 109 Tiger reclining 110 Drawings of animals 111 Portrait of Barye. Photograph 112 Medallion of Barye by A. Patey 20